Problems in trying to combine parish pro-life and social justice committees

The new issue of The Tidings carries a column (click on this post's title) by Vincentian Fr. Richard Benson of St. John's Seminary, "Understanding a 'good' society."

Father's article is obviously well-intentioned. He says parishes should not have separate social justice and pro-life committees but should combine them, because Catholic morality and social teaching do not separate our concern for all persons, born and unborn.

That suggestion does have some problems, though. As a practical matter: Lay volunteers can only spare a certain amount of their time, effort and donations, so trying to merge the activities of two committees into one is going to double the load of the volunteers involved or else cut it in half, and in either case that will hurt the volunteers' effectiveness.

Also, if a particular parish's social justice committee's idea of Catholic social justice is to follow the Obama-Democrat platform, that is a problem. Catholic social teaching is not synonymous with liberal Democrat politics, after all, nor, in general, is smaller-government conservatism in conflict with Catholic social teaching.

What is more, Catholic teaching places the right to life above other matters, in that directly taking the lives of innocent preborn babies and the elderly, ill and infirm is intrinsically evil and never debatable. But far-left, ACORN-type political agitation, to which more than a few Catholic clergy and laity subscribe, is certainly debatable.

So it is right to ask Catholic social justice advocates to start taking part in anti-abortion activities, but it is not right to ask Catholic pro-lifers to start engaging in ACORNism, saving whales, etc.

The two types of activities are on a different plane, a different level, and one (right to life) is an inherent part of Catholic doctrine but the other (far-left political activism) is not.

It is also an extremely bad idea, as Ole Q has said here time and again, to imagine, as some social justice activists (not Fr. Benson, of course) do, that pro-lifers somehow "don't care about people after they are born." That is not only a lie, it is a centerpiece of abortion propaganda, and the pro-aborts love to spread it all the time.

Even if all pro-lifers were conservatives, which they are not, that would not mean they "don't care about people after they are born." Contrary to liberal political propaganda, conservatives believe in a safety net, and Catholic conservatives support true Catholic social teaching.

But mainly, the average parish committee can do only one thing at a time, and that is why they are separate.

Outrageous: The Tidings headlines false charges against pro-lifers

The new issue of Cardinal Roger Mahony's archdiocesan newspaper, The Tidings, has an article (click on this post's title) headlined, "Life advocates urged to become better informed, more gracious."

The article starts out by relaying these outrageous, no-proof-offered, and out-and-out FALSE, charges against pro-lifers:

"People do not change their minds when they are bullied and treated with disrespect, pro-life advocates were told at the Right to Life League of Southern California's annual conference on life issues Jan. 24.

"Rather, in order to change the hearts and mindsets of those who favor legalized abortion, 'pro-lifers must become better informed in talking one-on-one with those who disagree with them on this crucial subject,' said featured presenter Alan Shlemon. And, he added, they must do so while becoming more gracious in their demeanor."

Maybe Shlemon's overall talk was not as bad as The Tidings report makes it sound. But nevertheless, he apparently did spout the above generalized, inaccurate and BASELESS accusations against all pro-lifers. This was at the Focus on the Future Conference, held at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels before the annual Requiem Mass for the Unborn.

If you've been in the pro-life movement for even a short time, you know that pro-lifers DO NOT "bully" opponents and "treat [them] with disrespect." You also know that pro-lifers DO NOT need to "become better informed" and "more gracious in their demeanor."

And you also know that armchair generals and standers-on-the-sidelines LOVE to fantasize about pro-lifers and project all sorts of terrible imaginings onto us.

Finally, you also wish that these people who criticize pro-lifers, give us advice and make up stuff about us would criticize abortionists and pro-aborts at least as much as they criticize us.

Do Shlemon and The Tidings really believe that the Rosary- and Bible-carrying grandmas, and the young mommies with their babies in strollers, who bravely pray and sidewalk counsel outside L.A.'s rapacious abortion mills, bully anyone and treat anyone with disrespect?

Do Shlemon and The Tidings ever stop to consider that the abortion mills' hate-filled deathscorts are the actual bullyers and disrespecters and need a much more gracious demeanor?

Shlemon, the Tidings article reports, belongs to Stand to Reason, a Protestant group of which he says, "We train Christians to persuasively yet graciously share their Christian convictions as ambassadors for Jesus."

Suggestion: If Shlemon and The Tidings really want to become "gracious" themselves, they need to stop smearing all pro-lifers as bullies, disrespecters, ungracious and ill-informed.

The federal prosecutor and his strategy

The print edition of today's L.A. Times has an editorial that criticizes the unusual legal strategy being pursued by the federal prosecutor who is behind the current federal grand jury probe of Cardinal Roger Mahony and other officials of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.

The prosecutor's name is Thomas P. O'Brien. The same edition of the Times also has a news article (click on this post's title) about previous cases O'Brien has pursued. The news story says:

"In each of these cases, O'Brien, a former Navy Top Gun instructor and gang prosecutor in the district attorney's office, has either taken on battles that others may have shied away from or employed novel -- some would say shaky -- legal strategies to make his case."

The news story quotes a spokesman for O'Brien:

"'Everything we do is in the pursuit of justice. We have used innovative legal theories in an effort to vindicate the victims of criminal activity. While this may have generated criticism in some circles, we stand by our decisions.'"

In a press release today, the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights criticized O'Brien. You can see the release at: http://www.catholicleague.org/

As I said yesterday, were it not for the past "mishandling" of clergy molestation cases, the federal prosecutor would have less excuse for his probe of the Archdiocese.

Sentencing for laicized priest

The online L.A. Times has a story (click on this post's title) about the sentencing today of L.A. laicized priest George Miller, 70, to three years in prison for molesting a boy. The story says:

"[Miller] pleaded guilty in December to molesting the child between 1988 and 1989 and admitted sexually abusing at least three other boys after the archdiocese received its first complaint in 1977 about Miller molesting a child...

"An attorney for the victims said Miller was placed on leave in 1996 after he was accused a third time of molestation. Church officials said he never returned to the ministry and was reduced to lay status by the pope in 2005.

"Miller was among the priests whose personnel files were the subject of a vigorous legal battle when [L.A. Cardinal Roger] Mahony fought against turning them over to the Los Angeles County grand jury."

Wow! -- Archbishop Raymond Burke says U.S. bishops' "Faithful Citizenship" helped elect the pro-abortion extremist Obama

Drop everything and click on this post's title to read what Archbishop Raymond Burke, the prefect of the Apostolic Signatura, says about our U.S. bishops' role in electing Barack Hussein Obama.

He slams the bishops' "Faithful Citizenship" document for misleading Catholic voters, and he knocks the Catholic News Service for underemphasizing Obama's pro-abortion extremism.

This criticism of the U.S. bishops by a high Vatican official is unprecedented, as far as I can remember.

Like I said: Wow!

Cardinal Mahony "mystified" by federal grand jury probe

The pro-abortion, pro-homosexual-agenda, sinking-in-circulation L.A. Times ran a front-page story this morning (Thursday), "Cardinal Mahony under investigation over abusive priests, sources say" (click on this post's title).

Then, this afternoon (Thursday), the Times posted a link to a KNX 1070 News Radio interview at http://www.knx1070.com/pages/3744379.php?

in which Cardinal Roger Mahony said he was "mystified and puzzled" about a federal grand jury probe of the Los Angeles Archdiocese over the clergy abuse scandal.

In the radio interview, Cardinal Mahony said he does not know whom the probers are targeting. He said the probers want files on 22 priests, of whom two are dead and 20 are in the lay state and long gone.

In reply to a question by one of the interviewers, Cardinal Mahony said he would appear before the grand jury if he was asked to.

The L.A. Times news story said:

"Authorities are applying a legal theory in an apparently novel way. One federal law enforcement source said prosecutors are seeking to use a federal statute that makes it illegal to 'scheme . . . to deprive another of the intangible right of honest services.'"

"In this case, the victims would be parishioners who relied on Mahony and other church leaders to keep their children safe from predatory priests, the source said.

"To gain a conviction on such a charge, prosecutors would have to prove that Mahony used the U.S. mail or some form of electronic communication in committing the alleged fraud, the source said.

"Legal experts said the theory that prosecutors are pursuing is usually reserved for cases against public officials, such as politicians and law enforcement officers, and corporate executives accused of wrongdoing.

"Rebecca Lonergan, a professor of law at USC and a former federal prosecutor, said she was unaware of the law's ever being used to charge a member of the clergy.

"'They would have to show some intentional wrongdoing rather than just after-the-fact cover-up,' she said. "

That federal prosecutors are pursuing "a legal theory in an apparently novel way" and using a law "[n]ever... used to charge a member of the clergy" could suggest that someone in the federal government has a bias against our Catholic Church. Nevertheless, they would have less of an excuse for this probe if it were not, for example, for the mishandling, to put it mildly, of cases such as the Michael Baker case.

Requiem Mass for the Unborn

Can you post a report on the annual Requiem Mass for the Unborn last Saturday at the Cathedral, or do you know anyone who attended?

I'd happily post a report.

One of the best pro-life slogans ever is one that good friend Ken Fisher made a bumper sticker and envelope sticker of years ago: Pray To End Abortion.

More than 32,000 pro-lifers marched in the fifth annual West Coast Walk for Life this past Saturday in San Francisco

The West Coast Walk for Life this past Saturday in San Francisco was the biggest ever: More than 32,000 pro-lifers, a cross-section of the USA -- including 87-year-old Fr. Salvatore Giacomini of Sts. Peter and Paul Parish in San Francisco, God bless him!

Lots and lots of high school and college-age pro-lifers!

You can read about the Walk, and see lots of really encouraging and inspiring photos, at the official site -- http://www.walkforlifewc.com

You can also read about the Walk at Fr. John Malloy's and Gibbons Cooney's great Catholic pro-life, anti-homosexual agenda site (click on this post's title)

You can also get a first-person account of the Walk by friend Joe of St. Therese at his blogspot, Verbum Veritatis (Word of Truth) at http://truthbloggedhere.blogspot.com/

Nancy Pelosi: Fix the economy by funding contraception

Nancy Pelosi, the abortion-fanatic Democrat Catholic Speaker of the House of Representatives, sure has been at her crazed "best" again in the last week.

On January 22, the 36th anniversary of Roe vs. Wade, she issued a statement about how she's always fought to keep the aborting of babies legal, she always will, and she'll work with Obama for aborting babies.

Then yesterday, on TV, she justified putting hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars for contracepting into Obama's economic stimulus [sic] package -- on the grounds that eliminating babies will save money for the federal government and the state governments.

Like all liberal ideologues, she thinks of people only as consumers of resources, not as producers of wealth and resources.

Wonder if she knows, or cares, that the contraceptives she plans to fund often act as abortifacients by preventing the implantation of an already conceived new baby.

Wonder if all the priests and bishops now know that, too -- the ones who rebelled, and still rebel, against Humanae Vitae and counseled people to go ahead and use contraception.

When is Archbishop Niederauer going to discipline Nancy Pelosi?

Remember these pro-life events in S.F. and here in L.A. on Saturday the 24th

Now that liberal Catholics' darling B.H. Obummer has festooned his first week in office with pro-abortion moves, it is time for the rest of us to pray, fast, think and act pro-life.

Earlier this week, B.H. Obummer, as you probably have heard, issued a sickening pro-abortion statement in celebration of the anniversary of Roe vs. Wade.

Then B.H. Obummer followed that up on Friday the 23rd with an executive order that ended the Mexico City policy, which in the past 25 years (except for the Slick Willie years) has saved the lives of hundreds of thousands, or maybe millions, of Third World babies by keeping U.S. taxpayer dollars out of the blood-stained clutches of abortion and pro-abortion groups.

This move by B.H. Obummer will encourage the coercion of many countries in the Third World to legalize aborting babies. Make no mistake, it is a disaster for the Third World.

Thank you, all you Catholics who voted for B.H. Obummer. Look what you've done. (This is sarcasm.)

So on Saturday the 24th, be sure to:

Join your local pro-lifers in sidewalk counseling and praying at your local abortion mill. (Never go by yourself, because that makes it easy for the deathscorts to file false charges against you.)

Next, tune in to Mother Angelica's EWTN by 10 a.m. to watch, and to pray along with, all the zillions of pro-lifers gathered in San Francisco at the fifth annual West Coast Walk for Life. For more info, see: http://www.walkforlifewc.com/

Then, go to the pro-life Mass at the Cathedral in downtown L.A. at 6 p.m. -- the annual Requiem Mass for the Unborn (click on this post's title). Pray for the babies and pray that more Catholics will become actively pro-life. After Mass, recruit new pro-lifers to join your pro-life group or to join you in founding a pro-life group.

By the way, glad to see that the Cathedral web site finally got the day of the Mass correct -- it's Saturday, NOT Sunday.

The March for Life was the biggest ever this year

If you saw the annual March for Life in our Nation's capital today on Mother Angelica's EWTN, you know that the massive throng of pro-lifers was incredibly huge and the largest ever.

For about two hours, pro-lifers marched along Constitution Avenue 50-across from curb to curb.

Typically, and disgracefully, many news media outlets refused to mention the march, and most of the ones who did mention it lied by describing the marchers as only "thousands."

The Washington Times article (click on this post's title) quoted a marcher who guessed 250,000, but the number had to have been bigger than that.

So many of the marchers were young -- college and high school and twenties -- that pro-aborts, including liberal Catholics , have to know that the tide of history, to use an Obamaism, is passing them by and the future will be pro-life.

If you voted for Obummer, tell it to the little person pictured here

This little person, yawning inside Mommy's womb, does not know what B.H. Obama has in store for him or her. The word is that on Thursday, Jan. 22 or so, Obummer will end the Mexico City policy, which President Reagan began in 1984 to keep our taxpayer dollars from going to Banned Parenthood and similar groups that abort babies overseas or promote abortion overseas.

Many, many overseas babies' lives will be lost because of this action by B.H. "Punished with a Baby" Obummer.

It is obviously significant that Obummer would take this cruel step on the anniversary of Roe vs Wade and on the day of the annual March for Life in D.C.

So much for Catholic liberals' claim that Obummer would "reduce" abortion.

Be sure to pray for the right to life on January 22.

And on Thursday, be sure to tune in to EWTN at 8 a.m. or earlier for their great live coverage of the March for Life and the pre-March speeches. Also, check C-Span, which usually covers the March. And check both of them in the evening for rebroadcasts of the March.

Does it really take courage to send a postcard?

Someone showed me a copy of a fax that Cardinal Mahony sent last week to invite parishes to take part in the U.S. bishops' anti-FOCA postcard campaign (click on this post's title) set for next weekend, Jan. 24-25, and the weekend after that, Jan. 31-Feb. 1.

FOCA is the abolish-all-protections-for-babies-in-the-womb Freedom of Choice Act. The bishops want parishes to get the anti-FOCA postcards and have parishioners sign them so they can be sent to their reps in Congress.

Let's hope your parish and mine are taking part in the bishops' postcard campaign.

Obama pledged to Planned Parenthood in 2007 that he would sign FOCA into law as soon as he could. It hasn't been introduced yet in this new session of Congress.

The cardinal writes, "In defense of innocent human life, we are called to be courageous." Let's hope he doesn't really think the tiny step of doing a postcard campaign is courageous, or is all that we need to do to defend preborn babies.

After all, every day, here in L.A. and across America, pro-lifers, including grandmas and mommies with babies in strollers, take steps that are actually courageous in defense of preborn babies: Assembling outside abortion chambers for sidewalk prayer and counseling, and thus risking false accusations by the deathscorts, arrest, trial, jail terms and heavy fines.

We are indeed "called to be courageous," and that involves more than postcards.

That convent is Santa Barbara is history

Remember the convent of the Sisters of Bethany in Santa Barbara? The sisters left some time ago, and now I'm reliably informed that the convent has been demolished -- in preparation for a larger church for the next-door Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish.

I do not know the particulars, but I have heard indications that some original backers of the sisters ended up not on their side. Let's say a prayer for everyone involved in the past brouhaha, and let's pray that the story will have a happy ending overall.

Do you say this quick but vital prayer after saying grace?

When you say grace before meals -- and before eating or drinking at other times -- do you also say a very important prayer along with it?

My parents always had us kids join them in doing so. First we all prayed, "Bless us, O Lord, and these Thy gifts, which we are about to receive from Thy bounty. Through Christ Our Lord, Amen."

And then we all prayed this vital prayer: "May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen." And to that we added a Hail, Mary.

The reason I'm mentioning this is that so many Catholics I know do not say that prayer and seem to have never heard of it. Yet Catholics used to say it regularly, and the saints have always told us that it is essential for us to pray for the souls in Purgatory.

After all, if you and I are in Purgatory someday, and who knows how soon that could be, we will be very grateful to anyone who prays for us.

So if you haven't been praying for the faithful departed when you say grace, now is a great time to start. Amen!

Here's what a pro-life parish can accomplish

If you want to inspire your bishop, your pastor and your fellow parishioners and get them going about actually saving babies, have them each read the article "Parish's Big Victories" (click on this post's title) in the Dec. 21-Jan. 3 issue of the National Catholic Register.

The report is about St. Helena of the True Cross of Jesus Parish in Corpus Christi, Texas, and its pro-life pastor Fr. James Farfaglia and pro-life parishioners.

"The single most important thing a member of the clergy can do is be on the front lines of the sidewalk,” said parishioner Ray Reeves. "The presence of a Roman collar and rosary beads is probably the single most powerful message that a pastor could send to his parishioners about his dedication to life."

Parishioner Therese Perez said, "When I joined St. Helena’s, I didn’t realize the extent Father James would lead us into an actively pro-life parish. It really is a remarkable difference."

She says, about the local abortion chamber, "When we started two years ago, the parking lot would be overflowing to the point where customers had to park on the street. Now it's so different. There are much less people [coming as customers]. The only thing we can attribute our success to is the power of prayer and presence."

She concludes, "Thanks to Father James, there’s a lot of good fruit. As parishioners, we have seen our lives and our whole attitude toward life change because of the graces we’ve received in this ministry."

Every parish in the USA -- including all those inside the abortions-soaked bounds of our Archdiocese of L.A. -- should be like St. Helena. Don't you agree? Let's get going!

Relive a happy moment: "Habemus papam" in 2005

Click on this post's title for a happy sound-and-photo file of a memorable moment, now nearly four years ago, for all of us in the Roman Catholic Church: The announcement, in Latin of course, that "Habemus papam...Cardinalem Ratzinger!"

This file is from from Clayton Emmer's fine "The Weight of Glory" Catholic blogspot.

Best wishes to Clayton at "The Weight of Glory"

Best wishes to Clayton Emmer at http://www.doxaweb.com/blog/blogger.html

Last Wednesday he announced on his excellent Catholic blogspot, "The Weight of Glory," that:

"This week I begin my trek back to Minnesota after five years in Los Angeles. They have been very full years, with many blessings. My prayers remain with all of my friends here and all who serve in the entertainment community of Hollywood."

Let's hope Clayton will continue his wonderful blogging from the Land of 10,000 Lakes!

Cathedral web site lists wrong day for this year's Requiem Mass for the Unborn

At olacathedral.com you will see that the web site of the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels lists a correct date but an incorrect day for a Cathedral event: This year's Requiem Mass for the Unborn. The date is indeed January 24, but the day is Saturday, not Sunday.

The latest Tidings publicizes pro-life events

The next couple of weeks' pro-life events get mentioned in the latest issue (Jan. 9, 2009) of Cardinal Mahony's archdiocesan newspaper, The Tidings.

One article, about upcoming events in the archdiocese, includes the Requiem Mass for the Unborn at the Cathedral at 6 p.m. on Saturday, January 24:

http://www.the-tidings.com/2009/010909/looking_text.htm

(Incidentally, the Cathedral's web site at olacathedral.com has the correct date, Jan. 24, for the Requiem Mass for the Unborn but the wrong day. The Mass is Saturday, not Sunday.)

Another January 9 Tidings article (click on this post's title) publicizes this year's March for Life in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, Jan. 22, and the West Coast Walk for Life in San Francisco on Saturday, Jan. 24.

Cardinal Pio Laghi, R.I.P.

USA Today reports (click on this post's title) that Cardinal Pio Laghi (above) died Saturday in Rome at age 86 from a blood-related illness. May he rest in peace.

Cardinal Laghi was named Papal Nuncio to the USA in 1980 and handled the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Holy See and the U.S. government in 1984.

President George W. Bush issued a statement of "deepest condolences to Pope Benedict XVI and all Catholics."

Archdiocese should invite the Catholic pro-abortion politicians to the cathedral for the Requiem Mass for the Unborn

A way the Archdiocese of Los Angeles could make the annual Requiem Mass for the Unborn (at 6 p.m. in the cathedral on Sat., Jan. 24) especially memorable this year would be to invite all of the many California Catholic pro-abortion politicians to attend.

After all, they show up at the cathedral on a lot of occasions, anyway, so why not this one?

Give them the podium after Mass, too. Let them expound upon, oh, say, these passages:

Proverbs 24:11: "Rescue those who are being dragged to death, and from those tottering to execution withdraw not."

St. Matthew 19:14: "but Jesus said, 'Let the children come to me, and do not prevent them; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.'"

St. Luke 1:41-44: "When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, cried out in a loud voice and said, 'Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy.'"

Pro-aborts prominent at Cathedral funeral Mass

A report (click on this post's title) in today's L.A. Times says that after the Communion at Cardinal Mahony's funeral Mass for Robert Graham, the sculptor who did the bronze doors for the new cathedral and also did the bizarre statue of Our Lady above them, L.A.'s mayor/alcalde Antonio Villaraigosa and Maria Shriver (wife of Gov. Schwarzy) gave eulogies.

Hizzoner and Maria Shriver have both made it plain in the past that they are for keeping it "legal" for abortionists to abort babies.

Besides Catholic themes, Mr. Graham's cathedral doors' panels include "pre-Christian symbols" such as "Samoan Kava Bowl," "Sicilian Legs (regeneration symbol)" and "Raven Eating Man's Liver."

As for Mr. Graham's totality of work: At http://www.christinabalch.com/writing/index.html -- there is a review, entitled "The Female Form Exploited," by artist Christina Balch, a feminist, of an exhibit of his. Miss Balch wrote, among other things, that his sculptures "accentuated the sexual anatomy" and that "it would appear that Graham utilized his artistic ventures to satisfy more carnal needs rather than artistic studies."

Just as we do for everyone who enters eternity, we should, of course, pray for the repose of Mr. Graham's soul.

L.A. Requiem Mass for the Unborn, 6 p.m., Sat., Jan. 24, 2009, at the Cathedral

Today, January 7, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles has announced (click on this post's title) that its 2009 annual Requiem Mass for the Unborn will take place at 6 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 24, at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in downtown Los Angeles.

In a message of invitation on the Archdiocese's web site today, Cardinal Roger Mahony writes, "[The Mass] is a wonderful way for our people [to] come together in prayer and in mutual support for protecting all unborn [babies]."

The full title of the Mass is "the Shantigarh Requiem Mass for the Unborn," but don't let the word "Shantigarh" put you off. It's the name of an L.A.-area Catholic choral group.

At http://www.requiemsurvey.org/composers.php?id=1511 the Catholic composer of the Requiem Mass, John Bonaduce, has these right-to-life things to say:

"If the Lord can see us in a drop of morning dew, I invite the listener to see life in a single cell or in an unborn child. If God can make that reach, it's my hope that we can."

"Civilized men and women must come forward and bury their dead. [The Requiem Mass treats the aborted baby as] a person deserving all the rights of a funeral. In a backwards way, we're building the personhood of those who were aborted."

An aside: Yesterday, a commenter on my post about the Jan. 24 West Coast Walk for Life who called herself (or himself) "Betty" accused Ole Q of not publicizing this year's pro-life Mass at the Cathedral. I pointed out to her (him?) that I publicized the Mass last year and that so far (as of last night) the Archdiocese's web site itself had not publicized its own pro-life Mass.

So it's interesting that suddenly today the Archdiocese's web site is publicizing the pro-life Mass.

Anyway, obviously, some Southern Californians will go up to San Francisco for the Walk for Life on Jan. 24, but many others will have to stay close to home and they can attend the L.A. Mass that evening. "Betty" should not have assumed Ole Q would not publicize a Mass for the Babies.

"Ut vitam habeant" -- "That they might have life"

LifeSiteNews.com today (Tuesday) had a story (click on this post's title) about Bishop Elio Sgreccia, the retired head of the Pontifical Academy for Life.

Bishop Sgreccia has begun a new pro-life initiative, his Ut Vitam Habeant Foundation -- the "That They Might Have Life" Foundation.

Whoa, the liberals won't like that one! Not only is it anti-abortion, its title is in, gasp, Latin!

More power to Bishop Sgreccia and to all pro-lifers who are redoubling their commitment and their efforts in this new year 2009.

Stand up for the babies: Go to the West Coast Walk for Life, Sat., Jan. 24, in San Francisco

Hope you are planning to go to the 5th annual West Coast Walk for Life along San Francisco's waterfront on Saturday, January 24.

By then we'll be living in the Obamanation, so it's important for everyone to stand up publicly for the babies and be counted.

The pro-aborts and the anti-pro-lifers need to know that we're not going away.

Click on this post's title to find out all about the Walk and about that morning's Mass, as well as the events on the day before (including all-night Adoration) and the day after.

The event the day after is a candlelight prayer vigil at an abortion chamber. That is great, because no pro-life conference or other large event should ever take place that does not include the attendees giving public witness outside the local abortion chamber(s).

Certain Catholic priests allegedly gave the Kennedys a "way" to back aborting babies

Maybe you've already seen Anne Hendershott's January 1, 2009, Wall Street Journal article (click on this post's title).

It is about the claim by ex-priest Albert Jonsen in 2003 that back in 1964 he and five other Catholic priests told a gathering of the Kennedys and Shrivers in Hyannisport that Catholic politicians could "in good conscience" vote for aborting babies.

The five other priests, according to Jonsen, were Fr. Joseph Fuchs, Fr. Robert Drinan, Fr. Giles Milhaven, Fr. Richard McCormick and Fr. Charles Curran.

Question: Has something similar ever happened with politicians and clergy anywhere else in the past 45 years -- say, out here in Los Angeles or elsewhere in California? Just wondering.

Just wondering, because the Catholic pro-abortion politicians out here sure have always seemed convinced they can in good conscience vote to abort babies, and they never mention being told otherwise by their bishops or pastors.

Happy New Year, and God bless!

Hi, and Happy New Year, although it's just a bit late to be saying so.

In today's edition of his daily e-mail bulletin, Robert Jason points out that Their Catholic Majesties Ferdinand and Isabella (Ysabel) and their army entered Granada on January 2, 1492. That victory completed the seven-centuries-long reconquista of Spain from the Moors. Some say Christopher Columbus was among the campaigners who entered Granada that day.

Will it take seven centuries for the right to life cause to "reconquer" hearts and minds in the USA after the fast-approaching anti-baby depredations of the coming reign of pro-abortion politicians supported by the votes of millions of Catholics in Los Angeles and elsewhere whose bishops, as far as I can tell, kept silent, during the campaign, about the fate of our preborn babies?

Thank Heaven for the 110 or so individual Catholic bishops during the campaign who did issue, or sign, pro-life statements that reminded Catholics that they may not vote for pro-aborts. The trouble is, around 200 other bishops said nothing.

Some of those 200 or so bishops might say today that they had in effect spoken out through the U.S. bishops' collectively issued Faithful Citizenship document. But that does not hold water, because, as we know, passages in that document go both ways and therefore had the effect of giving cover to Catholics who wanted to, and did, vote for pro-aborts.

Let us hope and pray for the growth of an America whose laws are once again pro-life and protect every baby from the abortionists.